Dramaturgy and playwriting, master
As a master's student, you will expand and articulate your understanding of the performing arts and how they interact with the world.
Why study here?
We encourage you to question art and theatre, be committed to artistic processes, and have an active presence on stage. You will have a comprehensive view of dramaturgy as the logic behind any performance or event that weaves together all its elements. The programme explores both playwriting and comparative dramaturgy.
In your studies you will delve deeper into questions of playwriting and dramaturgy and will also get to do stage work. You will learn to understand dramaturgy more widely as the binding logic that ties together components that make up a play, performance or an event.
Content and objective of the programme
Dramaturgy is a dialogue between the different elements that make up any play, performance, artwork or event. It is also an interaction between the artistic creation, the audience and the environment. Gaining in-depth knowledge of the traditions of drama and theatre and building a vibrant and critical relationship to the world will help you acquire the tools needed to develop your dramaturgical thinking.
We understand dramaturgy as more of a question rather than a perfect and complete system. The five-year degree programme approaches art and theatre in a spirit of questioning, experimentation and research.
The teaching in the Degree Programme in Dramaturgy and Playwriting is divided into four different areas:
- Playwriting and knowledge of drama
- Comparative dramaturgy and how to create a performance
- Scriptwriting for different media, such as radio, TV, films, new media
- The work of a dramaturge in different areas of performing arts (literary dramaturge, production dramaturge, planner of programmes, curator or organiser of events).
We strive for an open, questioning, and dialogue-based environment and encourage you to encounter the challenging questions of theatre, art, and society with a creative and critical mind. We emphasise the ability to handle your feelings of incompleteness and insecurity, and teach you how to utilise them in your work.
As a graduate of the programme, you can work as a playwright, dramaturge, scriptwriter, and a performance artist, among many other jobs, often switching between roles and perspectives. Our goal is to help you build a well-rounded competence that combines practice and theory and enables you to work in various kinds of work environments.
Our graduates are skilled professionals and creative artists and researchers who produce new content and methods that renew and challenge the fields of theatre and other performing arts.
The master’s studies consist of joint activities of the degree programme, study modules you have independently selected, and your independent artistic work. It also includes studies under the guidance of your tutor or the programme’s professor.
At the start of the studies, you will reflect on what you would like to focus on. You will create your initial work plan for your master’s studies around one or several artistic questions. Our goal is to create an atmosphere of artistic growth and experimentation, emphasising the slow journey of maturing into an artist. Aside from individual artistic development, we emphasise the collegiality and community spirit among students both within your own degree programme and among all master’s students.
Our objective is that you will be capable of versatile and independent dramaturgical thinking and artistic work after completing the master’s degree. On the programme, you will learn to create dramas and performances that develop and shed light on contemporary dramatic, aesthetic, and ideological notions. You will acquire the skills to develop your individual artistic characteristics and research-oriented attitude. This will also prepare you to pursue doctoral studies.
The master’s studies in dramaturgy highlight the ability to grasp extensive artistic entities and to work independently as well as the readiness to analyse and reflect upon your own work. We expect you to perceive your field and your own work as part of the larger context of art, culture, and society. We aim to educate professionals and creative artists and researchers who produce new content and methods that renew and challenge the fields of theatre and other performing arts.
New students to master’s studies are admitted every other year. Each year, students may apply to either Master’s Studies in Dramaturgy and Playwriting, or to the new Master’s Programme in Comparative Dramaturgy and Performance Research arranged as an international collaboration project.
Learn more about the new Master’s Programme in Comparative Dramaturgy and Performance Research.
Teachers
The Degree Programme in Dramaturgy uses a tutor system. Each student has one of the permanent teachers on the degree programme as their personal tutor. Some of the studies are arranged in the form of one-on-one artistic and pedagogical discussions with the tutor.
The programme’s permanent teachers are:
In addition to the permanent teaching staff, the programme welcomes top experts from both Finland and abroad as guests on a regular basis.
Doctoral studies
You can complete a licentiate and a doctoral degree at Uniarts Helsinki as a third-cycle degree. After graduating with a master’s degree, you can apply for doctoral studies in theatre and drama and specialise in research-oriented, artistic or applied doctoral studies.
Admissions guide
Application instructions for this programme haven't been published yet.
Target degree and length of study
Master of Arts (Theatre and Drama)
2 years
Application period
No admission in 2025. Next possible time to apply will be announced later.
Application languages
Finnish
Read more about language skill requirements
Tuition fee
There is no tuition fee for this degree programme, as the language of instruction is not English.
Unit
Theatre Academy
Ask about applying
Why study here?
We encourage you to question art and theatre, be committed to artistic processes, and have an active presence on stage. You will have a comprehensive view of dramaturgy as the logic behind any performance or event that weaves together all its elements. The programme explores both playwriting and comparative dramaturgy.
In your studies you will delve deeper into questions of playwriting and dramaturgy and will also get to do stage work. You will learn to understand dramaturgy more widely as the binding logic that ties together components that make up a play, performance or an event.
Content and objective of the programme
Dramaturgy is a dialogue between the different elements that make up any play, performance, artwork or event. It is also an interaction between the artistic creation, the audience and the environment. Gaining in-depth knowledge of the traditions of drama and theatre and building a vibrant and critical relationship to the world will help you acquire the tools needed to develop your dramaturgical thinking.
We understand dramaturgy as more of a question rather than a perfect and complete system. The five-year degree programme approaches art and theatre in a spirit of questioning, experimentation and research.
The teaching in the Degree Programme in Dramaturgy and Playwriting is divided into four different areas:
- Playwriting and knowledge of drama
- Comparative dramaturgy and how to create a performance
- Scriptwriting for different media, such as radio, TV, films, new media
- The work of a dramaturge in different areas of performing arts (literary dramaturge, production dramaturge, planner of programmes, curator or organiser of events).
We strive for an open, questioning, and dialogue-based environment and encourage you to encounter the challenging questions of theatre, art, and society with a creative and critical mind. We emphasise the ability to handle your feelings of incompleteness and insecurity, and teach you how to utilise them in your work.
As a graduate of the programme, you can work as a playwright, dramaturge, scriptwriter, and a performance artist, among many other jobs, often switching between roles and perspectives. Our goal is to help you build a well-rounded competence that combines practice and theory and enables you to work in various kinds of work environments.
Our graduates are skilled professionals and creative artists and researchers who produce new content and methods that renew and challenge the fields of theatre and other performing arts.
The master’s studies consist of joint activities of the degree programme, study modules you have independently selected, and your independent artistic work. It also includes studies under the guidance of your tutor or the programme’s professor.
At the start of the studies, you will reflect on what you would like to focus on. You will create your initial work plan for your master’s studies around one or several artistic questions. Our goal is to create an atmosphere of artistic growth and experimentation, emphasising the slow journey of maturing into an artist. Aside from individual artistic development, we emphasise the collegiality and community spirit among students both within your own degree programme and among all master’s students.
Our objective is that you will be capable of versatile and independent dramaturgical thinking and artistic work after completing the master’s degree. On the programme, you will learn to create dramas and performances that develop and shed light on contemporary dramatic, aesthetic, and ideological notions. You will acquire the skills to develop your individual artistic characteristics and research-oriented attitude. This will also prepare you to pursue doctoral studies.
The master’s studies in dramaturgy highlight the ability to grasp extensive artistic entities and to work independently as well as the readiness to analyse and reflect upon your own work. We expect you to perceive your field and your own work as part of the larger context of art, culture, and society. We aim to educate professionals and creative artists and researchers who produce new content and methods that renew and challenge the fields of theatre and other performing arts.
New students to master’s studies are admitted every other year. Each year, students may apply to either Master’s Studies in Dramaturgy and Playwriting, or to the new Master’s Programme in Comparative Dramaturgy and Performance Research arranged as an international collaboration project.
Learn more about the new Master’s Programme in Comparative Dramaturgy and Performance Research.
Teachers
The Degree Programme in Dramaturgy uses a tutor system. Each student has one of the permanent teachers on the degree programme as their personal tutor. Some of the studies are arranged in the form of one-on-one artistic and pedagogical discussions with the tutor.
The programme’s permanent teachers are:
In addition to the permanent teaching staff, the programme welcomes top experts from both Finland and abroad as guests on a regular basis.
Doctoral studies
You can complete a licentiate and a doctoral degree at Uniarts Helsinki as a third-cycle degree. After graduating with a master’s degree, you can apply for doctoral studies in theatre and drama and specialise in research-oriented, artistic or applied doctoral studies.